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What Is the MFA in Creative Writing?

A master of fine arts is a degree that can be earned after completing an accredited Master of Fine Arts program. The MFA in creative writing is one of the most recognized and well-known Master of Fine Arts degrees in the world. Eligible students will have completed a Bachelor of Arts in English literature, creative writing, or a related field and have either held a full-time job in the literary field or served as a professional writer on a creative writing program. Students are also required to write a Master’s thesis, which can be on any subject within the scope of their studies.

What Is the MFA in Creative Writing?

The Master of Fine Arts in creative writing is a relatively new degree that was established in the United States in 1966. It is now available at more than 200 universities across the country. Most Master of Fine Arts in creative writing programs take two years to complete.

In 2019, the MFA in Creative Writing reached its peak enrollment, experiencing a 24% increase over the last five years, according to the U.S. News Best Colleges ranking.

This ranking is based on traditional metrics like class size and placement rate, as well as the number of students who enter into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields afterwards. However, the U.S. News ranking fails to acknowledge the increasing diversity within the MFA in Creative Writing degree population.

Diverse Student Body

Over the last several years, the MFA in Creative Writing has experienced a substantial increase in the number of students who identify as “ethnically diverse”. In 2018, only 2.9% of the students who graduated from the program identified themselves as “White,” while 29.5% identified themselves as “Some Other Race,” and 66.6% identified themselves as “A Latino, African American, or Black”.

The most recent statistics from the U.S. News Best Colleges ranking confirm this trend. In 2019, 14.2% of the MFA in Creative Writing students identified themselves as “White,” 48.5% identified themselves as “Some Other Race,” and only 38.3% identified themselves as “Asian” or “Latino”. This is a significant increase from the 4.2%, 5.7%, and 20% of the students who identified as “White,” “Some Other Race,” and “Latino/a”, respectively, in the 2016 U.S. News ranking.

Career Prospects

With a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, students can enter into a variety of high-paying careers. According to the U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, 70% of the MFA in Creative Writing students who graduated in 2019 were able to secure employment, either full or part-time. In addition, 10% of the students were able to land a job in a creative field that paid more than $50,000 per year, while 19% were able to land a job in a related field that paid between $40,000 and $49,999 per year. Finally, the U.S. News ranking also stated that 15% of the MFA in Creative Writing graduates were able to land a job in a related field that paid less than $40,000 per year.

The MFA in Creative Writing has historically been a popular choice amongst students who want to be writers. However, with the increase in non-traditional majors like business, marketing, and communications, coupled with the rise of short-story competitions like the Pen America Short Story Grant, the MFA in Creative Writing is becoming a popular choice amongst students who want to be professional writers but don’t necessarily want to commit to a traditional career in publishing.

In 2019, the most in-demand jobs for Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing graduates were as follows: